Screws, Gears, and Pride
by ElizabethMegan
Summary: Utopia is a perfect world, where everyone is reunited with their loved ones, death is a thing of the past, and "evil" is in no one's vocabulary. But how can a world be perfect when its "god" hates what they have made? Heavily inspired by titular song. Bad End AU where Allen messes up big time.
1. Prologue: A Perfect World

Evillious Chronicles AU heavily inspired by the song "Screws, Gears, and Pride" and theories that floated around the wiki a few years ago. First time writing an actual _long_ story in a long time. Might be a bit rusty.

* * *

 _Prologue: A "Perfect" World_

A world where "malice" has been eradicated. A world where "sin" does not exist. A world where "demons" get a second chance at life. A world where "god" is humble and walks equally among "humanity" and treats them as his peers. A world where everything is truly "perfect" in theory.

Yet, a gear in the perfect clockwork has shattered and disappeared. The world still functions without it, there's no haywire or disarray. Those who notice its absence can't even be too upset. This place is "perfect" in theory, there is no need to worry about what was lost to achieve such a state.

All except one person seem to believe the ends justified the means. All except one person can move on. All except one person utterly despises this perfect "Utopia" of a world. But they grin, they laugh, and they're just as amicable as everyone else, refusing to let anyone know the horror that came before this world.

If he did, would anyone love this Utopia, knowing what he had to do to create it? Knowing what he does _now_ that it's been created?

* * *

"Whoa, hey, watch your step there, miss!"

A tall, curvaceous brunette nearly toppled over a shorter, scrawnier boy as she dropped all her groceries everywhere. She swore under her breath quite a few times about how irritating her new dress was and how she loathed dresses and so on and so forth, until she realized that the scrawny blond had offered his hand to her, a sympathetic smile on his face. "You alright there?" She nodded weakly as she struggled to stand up properly. Heels and a dress for meetings were one thing, but why did her father force her to wear these things all the time?

By the time the woman was steady on her feet again, the boy had picked up all her paper bags with the food back inside, miraculously not bruised despite the huge fall she had taken. "W-Wow, uh, thanks... Sorry 'bout that, kiddo." She dusted herself off with one hand and took back the groceries with the other. "You aight there, pipsqueak?"

A surprisingly nasty expression flashed across the boy's face, but was soon replaced with a cheeky smile and slight adjustment to the turtleneck collar on his sleeveless shirt. The woman decided she was only imagining things. "I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry about me." He waved one hand dismissively as he walked away from the woman. "Just be careful, okay, Germa- Miss?" He called back to her. Hearing the stranger almost say her name made her turn around and rush to follow him, but the boy had disappeared into the crowd.

Germaine scratched the back of her head with her free hand. "That's weird... Is he one of Chartette's or Ney's friends or something? Maybe Papa met him once... or somethin'." The thought lingered for a little while longer, but eventually she shrugged it off and continued on her way home.

The blond watched her depart from a dark alleyway, and sighed with relief when she seemed to ignore his slip up. That could've been _bad_ , to say the least. For now, he need to return to his work. He mumbled unintelligible words under his breath, and the teen was gone in an instant with no trace left behind.


	2. Chapter 1: A Mountain of Issues

What is pacing can I eat it? ... I can't? Dang.

Also, in case you didn't notice, there's going to be a lot of time-skipping stuff since I'm kind of just doing... snapshots into this AU and how it works? It's mostly for personal reference since I roleplay this AU on Tumblr and I want other people to know what the heck is the dealio. Remind me to never type that again. Anyways, enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 1: A Mountain of Issues

"No, no, no! What the hell even is that? Why the hell would you even _think_ that was a good idea at all?! Get out of here, you idiot! Out!"

A panicked worker quickly rushed out of the doors of a conference room, fear plain on his face. A small, scrawny blond with a high collared sleeveless shirt had his arms crossed as he glared at the remaining nervous adults in the room. Amber eyes darted around, as though daring someone to speak up.

"Why am I surrounded by complete and utter morons!" He exclaims, throwing his hands in the air and sighing, as though expecting someone to answer. "Do _any_ of you guys know what a princess looks like at all? Anyone? Come on, this should be _easy_." The only response he gets is silence. The blond pinches his nose and sighs once more, before waving his free hand dismissively at the stunned crowd. "Leave. We'll meet again tomorrow. I expect better designs by then, do you understand?"

"Y-Yes sir!" Was the unanimous response from the anxious group of men and women. The group almost systematically rose from their seats, pushed their chairs in, grabbed all their papers, and rushed out of the room, hushed whispers of gossip under their breath when they thought the teen couldn't hear. He most certainly could, but decided to let the morons have the benefit of doubt. It's not like their words were particularly interesting, anyways. Small things like "who let him be in charge" and "dunno what a princess is, but from how he talks about them, he sure acts like one" and, his personal favorite, "how is he even old enough to work here, much less be our boss?"

"... Idiots," he sighed yet again as he let his shoulders slump, then sitting in one of the empty leather chairs. "They can't be serious, though... not knowing what a princess is? Really? Surely Sis wasn't the _only_ princess in history..." He ran a hand through his blond bangs, frustrated with his subordinates. He glanced around the empty room, noticing a couple papers that someone, probably the poor soul from earlier, left behind, and picked them up. "... I can't believe he almost went for a _witch_ look with this one... Though it'd be a shame to let it go to waste." It's not like the guy's fired. This sort of nonsense happened almost every day.

Eventually, he left the room and went down one of the elevators, using his ID card as a key to let him access a floor _far_ below what is listed on the buttons. The teen tapped his foot impatiently until he arrived on the floor, exiting the sleek, clean, white space into a murky, smog filled mess of a factory.

 **C-Factory**

There was a mountain of scrapmetal to his left, and a foreboding purple haired guard on his right. The samurai styled guard immediately readied himself to unsheathe his sword and attack the "intruder", but the teen simply held up the ID card, and the guard returned to his statue like position. "Apologies, Alexiel," he spoke monotonously as he bowed.

"I thought I told you to call me 'Type-L' while down here, G." Alexiel squinted at the man, who flinched, but showed no other reaction.

"... Apologies, Type-L." The man bowed again, and then stepped to the side so that Alexiel could take the escalator to lower floors.

The teen did just that, and went towards the very bottom of the conveyor belts and cardboard boxes. He stepped off only a few floors above the actual bottom, and kept an eye on two of the defective products that had been dumped here.

BMD2 and SN7F. The reason they had been dumped was just like the others- those two didn't meet his ridiculously high standards. The reason they didn't get destroyed and scrapped just like the others- those two met completely different standards.

The eyepatched one with darker hair, SN7F, or as he liked to think of her, "Absolute Cynic", was scolding the lighter and happier one, BMD2, "Naive Know-It-All".

"Neji, be _careful_ for once! I can't keep patching you up, one of these days we'll get caught. You know that, right?" SN7F chastised, referring to the torn up, rusty leg the brighter girl managed to create.

"Ehehe, sorry, Hagu~!" BMD2 scratched the back of her head sheepishly as she popped the leg off at the kneecap, kicking her other leg childishly as she sat on a box and waited for the other to find a replacement. "I tripped earlier, that's all! Relax~" she giggled. This sort of bickering went back and forth, and the boy watched from above as he took notes on his phone.

"... So, they've given each other nicknames, huh?" Alexiel mused to himself as he observed the two androids.

"Jeez, just show at least a smidgen of caution for once, alright?" 'Hagu' mumbled, blushing.

"Awh, come on, _it can be our secret, between just the two of us_!" 'Neji' responded, face equally red.

Alexiel was so shocked he nearly fell over the railing. That exact line, in that exact tone... he hadn't heard it in years. How did this defective double learn such a phrase, and learn to say it _just like she did_ _, all those years ago?_... That's enough creeping on robots for one day. His chest was starting to hurt, too, either from the smog or the emotional heartache this place always brought. He didn't want to stay long enough to figure out which. He pocketed his phone in his shorts, mumbled the same phrase from just hours earlier, and disappeared again.


	3. Chapter 2: Before the End

This one is a lot of setup for the next chapter, context giving, etc. I told you I'd do time-skipping a lot, whoops.

* * *

Chapter 2: Before the End

Allen had been antsy for weeks, now. He was caught up on his lessons from the Black Box that Sickle forced him through, yet he still had to stay in there. Despite the old bat saying he would let him out once he finished, the teen was still stuck in the box with no way out. ... That's not completely true. He _did_ know a way out that Behemo taught him, but Held caught him the first time he escaped, and he was in _huge_ trouble after the second time when he actually went back to the 'ground world' of Evillious as a human to try to see Riliane again.

Ugh. At this rate, he'll never see anyone except Sickle's face, maybe, within the next century. Would the world even last that long? It was already 998 EC, and the Wrath Sinner, Nemesis, seemed to be preparing something, if the Box was up to date.

Screw it. He _had_ to get out of there and try to find someone before the "End" comes. Allen tried to unlock the Box from what little he remembers from his first meeting with Behemo, and struggled with the buttons for a bit before the top of the Box opened up anyways, and Sickle was peering inside.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Allen?" The farmer looked unamused.

"..." He stared up at Sickle, face blank as he internally struggled to put together a response.

"... Come on, then, out with it." He gestured for Allen to leave the box, letting only a little frustration into his tone. The boy exited with a sigh of relief, thankful for some fresh air even though it's irrelevant since he's just a spirit.

"I... want to go to the Theatre," Allen explained slowly. Sickle folded his arms and raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "I want to learn how to talk to people again, get some hands on experience. I've studied all the history, I really have, and... I feel like just you and Behemo isn't enough for me to stay... frankly, sane. You've seen how awkward I was as a human... And if I'm at the Theatre, I can keep an eye on MA and the demons...! It's a win/win for both of us, isn't it?" He didn't mention that he wanted desperately to see Waiter, to find out if she was the same as Riliane, or if she was just the Demon of Pride. He needed to find out for himself.

"... Mm. You realize if you reincarnate there, you'll be human again, and powerless, right?" He seemed to be considering the idea, which made Allen more hopeful.

"That's fine! I can handle myself." If nothing else, the demons would know how "Irregular" he was and would leave him alone, probably.

Sickle pondered the idea for a few achingly long moments before finally giving a blunt, "fine."

* * *

Allen woke up with a nasty headache. He had forgotten how painful, nauseating, and painfully nauseating reincarnation and becoming human again could be. At least he wasn't reborn completely as an infant and amnesiac of why he chose this. He ended up on the outskirts of the Millennial Forest, which was still lush and green in the area he was in. It wasn't until he steadily made progress towards the Theatre that the trees started dying and the wildlife grew quieter.

 _Thank Sickle it's broad daylight. This place would definitely be creepy at night._ He thought to himself as he continued traversing the woods. It's definitely different from when he was a kid...

 _"Hansel~! Why are you in two places at once~?"_ A girly voice singsonged as Allen froze in place. He forgot about the _other_ set of twins that would be here.

"What? I dunno what you're talking about!" A voice similar to his own called back.

Allen heard the sound of one person whacking another over the head. "Stupid, you were supposed to respond in tune with me! That would've made it better!"

"Gretel, you're still in 'stage' mode from Ma's plays..." Hansel groaned. The twins bickered for a few moments longer before remembering that they had a task at hand. They approached Allen with matching footsteps and matching smiles, heads tilted towards each other while they stared at the intruder without blinking. "Who are you, not-Hansel, to be stupid enough to wander these woods? I bet you taste just like him, though, so maybe Master will like that!" Gretel snickered.

Allen held his hands up in a surrendering motion, and struggled to come up with a response. "I-I'm... Allen... A-An acquaintance of Ma and Waiter." Damned stammering. He was trying to remain confident, but it was hard _not_ to be afraid of the strong, childlike twins. Even though he's met "God" and a few other "gods", Allen prayed to whoever was listening that these two would get the message.

"Whaaaaaaat?" Hansel's smile fell from his face, replaced by an expression of extreme befuddlement. "... Ma and Waiter have friends?" he whisper-yelled to Gretel. Her expression had become equally confused. "... Well, I guess they do, since this guy knows about them and he's not from here..." she answered in an equally weird tone. The duo return to being in sync, this time their smiles and overall demeanor less creepy. "If that's the case, right this way, then!" They both turned on their heels and skipped along towards Gallerian's Theatre.

"Thank you..." Allen finally exhaled as he followed behind.

* * *

Allen's first thought upon arriving at the gates of Evil's Theatre? _This is not a Theatre at all, this is an architectural mess that most people would throw a fit at_. First of all, it's a theatre for films that has _iron gates_ blocking the exit. There's a giant clock tower for some reason. An absurd garden with who knows how many exotic, magical plants. A courtroom with space for an audience. And apparently, a couple of seating areas for watching films or live productions. Along with living quarters for all the residents.

 _This is not a Theatre._

Honestly, his meetings with everyone were a blur. All the "Awakened Vessels" were suspicious of him until they sensed his "Irregular" nature, and then backed off and left him alone as though nothing happened. The Master of the Court took a little more convincing, seeming to believe he was her "son" that she was waiting for, but he just had to show the dark ring of skin around his neck to prove he was someone else. The final blow from his life as "Allen Avadonia" that wouldn't heal, human or spirit... apparently just another factor in his "Irregular" nature. After fixing the collar of his jacket to hide the wound, he let the Doll leave him alone.

It was kind of amusing watching the maybe one and a half foot tall doll walk around while everyone treated it like it was full sized and humanlike in appearance. He pondered if the other Vessels could tell she was casting an illusion or not.

These thoughts flew out of his head when he finally ran into the one he wanted to see the most out of everyone there.

His beloved other half, after so many years.


End file.
